Real Spit: Casey Veggies is an MC who's looking to make sure you don't snooze on him or his talented peers, and MTV News is spotlighting the artist to start off New West Week.

After catching the rhyme bug and getting positive feedback from some tracks he posted on MySpace, Casey released the Customized Greatly, Vol. 1 mixtape in 2007. Steadily improving with each new song, Odd Future knew what was up early, with Tyler the Creator throwing a couple of beats on Casey's sophomore mixtape, Customized Greatly, Vol. 2 back in 2009. Last year, he dropped Sleeping in Class, an offering that further reveals the Inglewood, California native to be from the school of fresh beats and rhymes.

"I didn't really want Sleeping in Class ... for people to think, 'Oh he's sleeping in class.' That's ignorant," Casey told Mixtape Daily. "Really, it was like a sub-meaning and it meant that I was sleeping on everything that everyone else was telling me was the truth and what was right to do. That's class, that's the teacher talking to you. I was sleeping on that and I chose my own route. I chose to do what I wanted to do. So that means I'm sleeping, I'm dreaming big and I'm doing my thing."

We weren't kidding about Casey being a student of the game, literally. While making a name for himself as an artist to watch from the West side of the map, the Inglewood High School senior made the honor roll with a 3.5 GPA. Commend the man.

Joints to Check For

» "Ridin' Roun' Town" - "The first song is 'Ridin' Roun' Town.' It was influenced by Los Angeles," Casey said. "I just heard the beat, the violins was real live, I just thought about the city and I just thought of everything that has to do with the city, like what goes on. Everything that I was speaking on in the song was real-life situations that I went through while living out here. The girls, trying to grind, stay focused; everything that really this city has to do with, I touched on it in my own way."

» "Euphoria II" - "That was a song that was on Customized Greatly, Vol. 2, and I just wanted to make sure that I captured the feeling from the first one just to really give it that part-two feel," Casey said. "It's called 'Euphoria II' and that indicates a natural high — I felt high off life. The music and what I'm saying, it's real stuff that's close to my heart, close to my life, and it's just real straight to the point, natural high."

Stick with us all week as MTV News turns the spotlight on the New West, the next wave of hip-hop acts helping to restore faith in the L.A. rap scene. From groups like Odd Future to rising MCs like Dom Kennedy, we'll bring you up close and personal to these artists as they carve their own lanes in the post-gangsta rap era. Keep it locked here for more on the West Coast up-and-comers!